Heretofore, it has been well known to provide self-ligating orthodontic brackets for use in the orthodontic treatment of patients that eliminate the need to rely on ligatures for retaining an archwire in the archwire slot of the bracket. A self-ligating bracket is intended to enhance the efficiency of orthodontic treatment and to eliminate any problem encountered in ligature failure whether the ligature be elastomeric or wire in form.
The orthodontic bracket of the invention is an improvement over the double jaw bracket disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,025,591 wherein the bracket of the invention improves archwire control as well as functional operability.
Further, it has been known to provide self-ligating brackets that will release the archwire from the slot whenever the forces on an archwire exceed a predetermined minimum value, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,554,612 and 6,582,226.
Another example of a self-ligating bracket having a ligating latch spring member is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,666.
Moreover, some heretofore known self-ligating brackets are burdened by complex mechanical configurations that have a tendency to excessively trap food particles, irritate the tissues of the mouth, and impose difficulty in opening and closing procedures.
Heretofore, it has also been well known to provide self-ligating orthodontic brackets for performing edgewise techniques when using an edgewise archwire in a rectangular slot as in above-noted U.S. Pat. No. 7,025,591, but not in performing the Tip-Edge technique.
It has also been known to provide brackets to perform the Tip-Edge technique as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,877,398 and 5,125,832, both with and without the uprighting wire feature as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,682,345, but it has not been known to provide a self-ligating bracket to perform the Tip-Edge technique with the uprighting feature.
It also has been known to provide an edgewise bracket for receiving an edgewise wire and for performing an edgewise technique that includes an uprighting tunnel, as in U.S. Pat. No. 7,264,468.